COMMUNITY ADVOCATES INC
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Mission Statement
In September 1976, Community Advocates was founded as a general advocacy agency with the vision of providing fundamental assistance and information to Milwaukee’s low-income and disadvantaged populations living in a community in which each person envisions a future with hope. Three volunteers started the agency by resolving landlord-tenant disputes, preventing utility shutoffs, offering basic budget advice, representing customers in applications and appeals to bureaucracies, and assisting individuals and families with healthcare and other consumer problems. Since then, the agency has evolved from primarily serving those in crisis to providing programs and services that help prevent the crisis. Community Advocates' mission is to provide individuals and families with advocacy and services to meet their basic needs so they may live in dignity. Addressing peoples’ needs at the most basic levels is why the agency was created and it continues to be its calling to this day.
About This Cause
Through its proven grassroots approach, Community Advocates works with clients and the community to identify problems and needs, and then find and design solutions to meet those needs. It does this by identifying internal and external gaps in programs and services, pinpointing systemic barriers to accessing those programs and services, and effecting change to better serve clients and the community as a whole. Whether there is a need for safe affordable housing, money management services for chronically mentally ill individuals, or quality health care for all, Community Advocates addresses these needs with effective, innovative programs and services that work. Community Advocates provides skilled and results-focused advocacy services to individuals and families experiencing extremely difficult basic needs, health care, heat/utilities, and housing challenges. The strategies used include one-on-one advocacy, case management, representation, information/referral, crisis intervention, education, systems advocacy, and coalition building. Programs are focused on serving Milwaukee’s low-income population but are available to any person or family in need regardless of their income level. Currently, Community Advocates operates over 40 programs offered through four divisions providing a continuum of direct programs and services to men, women, and children in Milwaukee County designed to ensure that all families or individuals are able to meet their needs: BASIC NEEDS: City of Milwaukee Building Inspector Services, Crisis Energy Assistance, Furnace Replacement Referral, Homeless Prevention and Housing Stability Case Management Program, Interim Disability Assistance Program, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Low-Income Pilot, Milwaukee Telephone Access Advocacy Program, Permanent Housing-Intervention / Prevention / Case Management for Homeless Families Program, Protective Payee, Rent Bridge Program, Security Deposit Guarantee Program, SSI Advocacy, Siemer Family Homeless Prevention and Case Management Program, Tenant-Landlord Mediation, Tenant-Landlord Training BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: Autumn West Safe Haven, Homeless Outreach Nursing Center, Housing First Initiative, My Home, Project Bridge MILWAUKEE WOMEN'S CENTER: Bottomless Closet, Children's Program, Crisis Line, Family Intervention Program, Family Support Center Emergency Shelter, Milwaukee County New Pathways for Fathers and Families, Milwaukee Women's Center Domestic Violence Emergency Shelter, Nevermore Batterer's Treatment, Older Abused Women's Program, Positive Options for Women Entering Recovery PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Alliance for Wisconsin Youth, City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance, Conversations With Policy Leaders, Drug-Free Communities, Effective ACA implementation Project, Improving Health Through Enhanced Work, Milwaukee Brighter Futures Initiative, Milwaukee County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, Milwaukee Transitional Jobs Collaborative,, Partnership for Success, ReCAST MKE Project, Smart Reentry Program, Working Our Way Out of Poverty, Youth Works MKE Community Advocates' contributions to the development of collaborative networks in Milwaukee and Wisconsin, which address social issues including homelessness, child abuse and neglect, and health care access have allowed the agency to take a broader systemic advocacy approach to dealing with each issue. Two significant outcomes resulting from the development of these networks have been greater collaboration and coordination between community-based organizations and bureaucracies, and an increased amount of community resources to deal with these issues. This reflects a belief that advocacy is more than helping families and individuals; it is also about building a community that can support those families and individuals.